Refrigerator



c. E. QUINN Jan. 3, 1939.

REFRIGERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov INVENTOR. 6

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A K a ATTORNEY. v

C. E. QUINN REFRIGERATOR Jan. 3, 1939.

Filed Nov. 27, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Clara 5 A ORNEYS.

Patented J... 3, 1939 UNI-TED STATES "P TENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR Clara E. Quinn, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Application November 27, 1937, Serial No. 176,777

, .12 Claims. This invention relates to improvements in retrigerators, particularly refrigerators of the type' employing water ice as the source of refrigeration.

An object of this invention is to employ a water ice refrigerant in association with a heat absorption system exposed to the space to be refrigerated and thermo-dynamically connected with the primary refrigerant through the agency of a circulating secondary refrigerant.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate a combination of the above type in a 'construction whereby the space to be refrigerated may be maintained at relatively lower temperatures with water ice than is possible using water ice alone.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate in a construction of this nature arrangements whereby the ice water resulting from the melting of the ice may be drained from the refrigerator through a drainage system arranged centrally with respect to the space to be refrigerated, and so constructed as to expose the ice water to the circulating air within the space to humidity it and clean it by the absorption of odorous vapors.

A still further object is to providein such a construction arrangements whereby the storage shelves in the refrigerated compartment are rotatably mounted around the central drainage system so that ready access to the contents of the refrigerated space may be had.

Other objects of this invention which are successfully secured will become apparent from the following detailed description of one physical construction embodying the above combination and principles. I

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction, arrangement and relative location of parts as will be fully described.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a vertical, central, cross-sectional view through a construction embodying the invention herein; p I

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of one of the heat absorbing fins;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, cross-sectional view therethrough;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical, cross-sectional view through a portion'of the mechanism showing the details thereof;

Fig. 5 is a crom-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a central, vertical, cross-sectional view comprising a heat insulating casing l of generally. circular cross-section enclosed in a suitable protecting and decorative metal casing 2. This casing is extended below the insulated casing 'so as to form a bottom wall 6 for the insulated casing and a chamber A in which the ice water pan 1 may be placed through an opening closed by a suitable door 5. The upper part of the casing comprised of the insulating lining I and metal covering 2 is provided with two openings which are closed by means of removable closure members or doors 3 and 4.

Disposed within, the space defined by the upper portion of the casing so as to provide a substantially horizontal partition, is a container 8 which is substantially a double walled slightly conical within the insulating casing to divide the space .therein into chambers B and C. The chamber B is adapted to receive, through the opening closed by the door 3, any suitable solid refrigerant such as water ice, as indicated at 9. The block of ice rests upon the upper wall of. the container'il.

Secured to the bottom wall of container 8 in heat conducting relation by soldering, welding, or incorporation directly therein, as an integral part are a plurality of radially extending, circumferentially spaced metal fins I0 which have secured to their bottom edges gutters II which incline downwardly towards a commonpoint, as is clear from Figure 1. Extending through the center of .the container 8 in a vertical direction and form-. ing a liquid-tight seal therewith is an ice water drain tube or spout I 2. N

Telescoped with the end of the spout -I2 is a vertical drain tube' l3 which has mounted therearound on open top container or pan M.

13 to join the ice water coming down the tube from the melting ice." Secured to the lower end of the tube I4 is a container t6 which is provided on 'a' radially inwardly extending flange at its upper edge with a series of bearing balls I 9 to form a circular track. At i 8 is a circular shelf provided with a groove to ride on the circular ball tracl'rand provided with 'a circular central opening so that the water in the pan I6 will be exposed to the air in the compartment C.

' The outer peripheral edge of the disc I8 is supported on a ball bearing race; 20.. The tube I3 is provided with-a series of openings -I'| through the wall thereof above the level of the bottom of pan J6. I

Telescoped for a short distance with the lower end of;.tube I3 is a tube ill, the lower end of which" is attached to another opentop container 4 track or groove I8 or pan 22 supporting the circular shelf 23 by the ball bearing 24 and the ball bearing ring 25. The details of the construction of pan 22, which are the same as the construction of pans I6 and 28 are shown more clearly in Fig. 4.

The tube 2| is shown slightly enlarged in diameter at its lower end as shown at 2|"- so as to receive and telescope with the upper end of the next tube 21.

and the portion 2| of the tube 20 is provided with a series of openings 26 on the level with the upper end of the tube 21.-v These openings correspond to the openings l1 and 31 iri the other tubes. As was the case of all the shelves,

the shelf 23 is provided with a circular track 23' 5 in connection with the shelf l8, are provided.

with a similar circular race track l8, near their periphery to engage the ball bearing race on the ring 20. The construction of the ring 20 which is similar to the rings 25, 30 and 35 is illustrated in Fig. 6. It is a ring of circular form having an inwardly projecting, radially extending flange in which are mounted, in any suitable manner a series of bearing balls 20. They are arranged to engage with the circular The result is that each shelf is supported near its center on ball races mounted in the flanges of the pans and at its outer periphery on ball races mounted in the rings secured to the inner wall of the container. It is apparent as a matter of convenience that the rings 20, 25, 30 and 35 be interrupted by the openings closedby the door 3, so as not to obstruct it. Thus the rings may terminate at the sides of the opening, or have segmental portions mounted on the door of the opening so as to be moved under and from under the adjacent edge of the shelves whenthe door opens. The tube 21 has secured to its lower end an open pan 28 having a ball race 3| engaging the shelf 21, which is supported at its outer edge by the ball bearing ring 30. At 32 is a final tube which passes through an opening in the bottom wall of the container "with which it has a sliding fit and is provided with a pan 33. This pan has the ball race 36 for supporting the center of the shelf 34, which is in turn supported at its outer periphery by the ball ring 35.

The upper ends of the tubes 21, 21 and 32, as explained above, are conical in shape and the plane of their upper ends lie in the plane of the openings I1, 26 and 31, respectively. By this construction the water running down the tube 13 will catch in the circular space around the conical end of the tube 2| and flow through the openings l1 filling the pan I6 to-the level of the top end of the tube 2|. The excess then runs down this tube to fill pan 22 in a similar manner, after which the excess flows down pan 28and from there discharges through the tube 32 into the pan 1. It will be noted that pan 33 does not serve any other function than as a bearing support for the center of disc 33. It is not intended to receive any of the ice water.

It is of course apparent that some means should be provided todetermine the amount of telescoping of the sections of the drain tube so as to properly lock the upper end of each section with the apertures through the wall of the The upper endsof the tubes 2| and 21 are conical in shape, as shown at 21' associated section and to insure that all the parts will be in their proper position. For this Purp se the upper end of each drain tube may be of less diameter than the remainder thereof to form a shoulder on which the associated end of the drain tube rests. However, an equally effective expedient which is structurally simpler' consists in applying an annular ring around each section adjacent its conical end and spaced therefrom the necessary distance, as indicated at 21". It is of course apparent that this ring may be formed by rolling an'annular bead into the tube section.

By means of this construction it will be seen that the entire shelf and drain structure may be easily disassembled in order to clean them. Thus by raising tube I3 slightly further, telescoping it with tube l2, it becomes free of the end of tube 2| and may then be removed. To facilitate this the tube |2 may have a loose fit with the upper end of tube l3. If preferred, however, the tube I3 may simply be raised up as far as it will go, leaving space to raise tube 2|, so as to free it from tube 21 when it may be removed. Tube I 3 may then be dropped to remove it. In this way the structure may be entirely disassembled. It will be noted that in raising each of the tubes the associated shelf and pan will be raised with it. The pans are secured to the tubes but the shelves may be lifted off the tubes to facilitate cleaning, with the exception of shelf l8 which is between the pans I4 and I6.

Although the operation of the device will be apparent from the above description, it may be noted that the warm air will circulate upwardly and over the fins l0, readily giving up its heat to them, and when chilled will circulate downwardly into the space to discharge additional heat. To facilitate this circulation a number of expedients may be followed to permit the passage of air through or around the shelves. For example, they may be, as is common, of a reticulated evaporating ice water serving to properly humidify the air while the remaining bodies of water tend to absorb the odorous vapors, thereby purifying and cleansing the air. The construction permits of these features by reason of the center drain which facilitates the use of shelves which may be revolved so that they maybe easily loaded and unloaded, thus insuring complete use of the space. v

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the various features of this invention may be varied without departure from the novelscope of the subject matter herein. I do not, therefore, desire to be strictly limited to the disclosure and a vertical sectionalized drain tube for said 15 wall extending centrally of the casing and passing through said shelves.

2. A refrigerator including an insulating casing having a generally horizontal partition wall forming a closed container having a secondary refrigerant therein and a drain spout, said-wall dividing the easing into two compartments the upper of which is adapted to receive a solid refrigerant which rests on said wall, a plurality of shelves supported in said lower compartment, and a vertical sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout and extending centrally of said shelves, there being one section for each shelf and removable therewith.

3. In a refrigerator the combination including an insulating casing, a hollow partition wall di-- viding the easing into two compartments, said hollow partition wall adapted to contain a secondary refrigerant, a center drain spout'for said wall, a plurality of shelves supported in the lower compartment, and a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout, said sectionalized drain tube passing centrally through said shelves.

4. ma refrigerator as described the combination including an insulated casing circular in cross. section, a refrigerant supporting wall dividing said casing into an upper and a lower compartment, a central drain spout for .said wall, a plurality of rotatable circular shelves in said lower compartment, and a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout, each shelf having a section of said tube associated and removable therewith.

5. In a refrigerator as described the combination including an insulated casing circular in cross section, a refrigerant supporting wall dividing said casing into an upper and a lower compartment, a central drain spout for said wall, a plurality of circular shelves in said lower compartment, means for rotatably supporting said shelves, a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout, each shelf having a section of said tube associated and removable therewith, and a plurality of heat absorbing fins con-' nected to said wall and exposed to the air in said lower compartment.

6. A refrigerator as described including an insulating casing, a heat conducting wall mounted in said casing and dividing it into upper and lower compartments, a drain spout for said wall, a plurality of shelves supported in said lower compartment, a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout, and 'an open'container supported on the lower end of each section of the drain tube, said drain tube having apertures through the wall thereof above the bottom of the associated container, the upper end of each tube section being conic'al and disposed at the level of said opening.

7. In a refrigerator the combination including an insulating casing, a heat conducting wall dividing the casing into upper and lower compartments, a central drain spout for said wall, a plurality of shelves supported in said lower compartment, a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout, a plurality of heat conducting fins secured to said wall and exposed in the lower compartment, the plurality of gutters secured thereto and inclined towards a common point, and an open container secured to said drain tube and positioned to receive moisture from said gutters, said drain tube having apertures therethrough above the level of the bottom of said container.

8. Ina refrigerator of the type described the combination including a heat insulating casing circular in cross section, a heat conducting wall dividing said casing into two compartments, 2.

central drain spout for said wall, a plurality of.

9. In a refrigerator of the. type described the combination including a heat insulating casing circular in cross section, a heat conducting wall dividing said casing into two compartments, acentral drain spout for said wall, a plurality of shelves in the lower compartment, a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout,

means for rotatably supporting said shelves in-' cluding members engaging it at its outer periphery and near the center concentrically with'said drain tube, and a plurality of heat conducting fins depending from said wall so as to be exposed to the circulating air in the lower compartment. 10. In a refrigerator construction the combination including a sectionalized drain tube comprising a plurality of partially,telescoped longitudinally aligned sections, an open container secured to the lower end of each section and surround ing it, each section having apertures in the wall thereof above the bottom of said container, and the telescoping ends of the next section being of less diameter to a portion thereof than the section with which it is telescoped, and its upper end being on the level with said apertures.

11. In a refrigerator of the type described the combination including an insulating casing, a shallow closed metal container dividing the casing into an upper and lower compartment, said container being intended to hold a. secondary refrigerant, the upper wall of the container being intended to support a body of water ice, a central drain spout for the upper wall of thecontainer, a sectionalized drain tube detachably connected to said spout comprising a plurality of sections respectively telescoped at their ends, a plurality of shelves surrounding said drain tube, and means for supporting said shelves at the periphery and near the center, the means at the center including open' containers communicating with said drain tube.

' CLARA E. QUINN. 

